Kenyan MPs begin process to impeach deputy president
This is the culmination of a major fallout between Gachagua and President William Ruto.
BBC | Members of parliament in Kenya have started the process of removing the country's deputy president from office.
Those who back the effort accuse Rigathi Gachagua of having a role in June's anti-government demonstrations - which turned deadly - as well as an involvement in corruption, undermining government and promoting ethnically divisive politics.
The deputy president has dismissed the allegations.
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This is the culmination of a major fallout between Gachagua and President William Ruto.
The impeachment itself is expected to sail through both houses of parliament easily, after the main opposition joined forces with the president's party following the recent protests. But there is no date yet for when that will actually take place.
Multiple efforts to stop the impeachment attempt through the courts failed.
The power struggle between the president and his deputy has led to concerns of instability at the heart of government, at a time when Kenya is in the throes of a deep economic and financial crisis.
Ruto chose Gachagua as his running-mate in the 2022 election, when he defeated former Prime Minister Raila Odinga in a bitterly contested election.
Gachagua comes from the vote-rich Mount Kenya region, and helped marshal support for Ruto.
But with members of Odinga's party joining the government after the youth-led protests that forced Ruto to back down from increasing taxes, the political dynamics have changed - and the deputy president looks increasingly isolated.
Gachagua has, however, struck a defiant tone, saying he has the backing of voters in his native central Kenya region.
“Two-hundred [legislators] cannot overturn the will of the people,” he said.
For the motion to pass, it would require the support of at least two-thirds of members of the National Assembly and Senate, excluding its nominated members.
Backers of the motion are confident that it will be approved.
Tinubu also addressed security in his speech, saying: "I am happy to announce to you, my compatriots, that our administration is winning the war on terror and banditry."
He added that the government had eliminated commanders from Boko Haram - a leading Islamist militant group in Nigeria - "faster than ever".
The nation's military has recently stepped up its campaign against armed groups, intensifying air bombardment and land operations.
Troops had "neutralised" almost 2,000 "terrorists" in the third quarter of the year, a military spokesperson said earlier this week.
But last week 24 people were killed when a military airstrike targeted armed gangs in Kaduna state but, according to local residents, hit a mosque and homes instead.
And reports of civilians being attacked by the armed groups the government is fighting still surface frequently.
Just two days ago, local media reported that armed assailants had killed at least two people and kidnapped 44 others in separate attacks in the states of Zamfara and Kaduna.
Protesters launched demonstrations on Tuesday, with the organisers saying they were against "the devastation, hunger, insecurity and the hardship that this government has unleashed on Nigerians".
Similar protests took place in early August. At least 21 people were killed in the demonstrations, while hundreds of others were arrested and charged with treason, looting and vandalism.
